While "Georgian Dream" continues to entrench its control over Georgia's public institutions and state resources, the country’s anti-corruption mechanisms are being repurposed not to hold those in power accountable, but to target independent civil society organizations in Georgia.

Independent monitoring reveals that since 2013, companies linked to “Georgian Dream’s” officials and the party's founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, have secured over 3.28 billion GEL in state tenders. Of this, 1.028 billion GEL was allocated to companies connected to donors of the ruling party between 2020 and 2024, with their donations totaling 7.7 million GEL.

Corrupt activities related to state tenders are multifaceted and include non-competitive procurements and simplified tenders, which favor companies closely associated with the ruling party. Additionally, employment programs that are formally intended to support vulnerable citizens often redirect public funds to further the party’s narrow interests, financing informal networks of party affiliates. It is also notable that public officials are involved in opaque property transactions, with many cases of undeclared property. Between 2024 and 2025, over 34 million GEL worth of property, including cash and real estate, was transferred to officials. These transactions are formally recorded as gifts, but in practice, they function as an alternative form of corruption aimed at maintaining political loyalty and distributing influence. However, these matters are not reflected in the Anti-Corruption Bureau's 2023-2024 reports, despite the Bureau's legal mandate to monitor officials' asset declarations and respond to suspicious transactions.

The Bureau's reports are formal and fail to document any instances of elite corruption, conflicts of interest, or specific property transaction evaluations. This demonstrates that the Bureau is not fulfilling its preventive or oversight functions, but rather serving political purposes of retaliation.

As a result, while "Georgian Dream" publicly claims to fight corruption, in practice, state resources are being seized by the political elite and businesses linked to the party, enriching themselves at the cost of transparency, fair competition, and public accountability.

At the same time, the State Anti-Corruption Bureau is being used as a tool to persecute independent civil society organizations. The Bureau has compelled these organizations to provide extensive data, including personal information and retroactive details from 2024 onward, which represents an unprecedented intrusion into the autonomy of civil society.

On September 4, 2025, the Bureau began "monitoring" over 80 non-governmental organizations under controversial amendments made to the "Law on Grants" earlier this year in April. These amendments contradict the freedom of association guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia and disproportionately target organizations working on human rights and democratic accountability.

These actions reflect a growing trend in which the captured state apparatus seeks to restrict civil sector activities while corrupt government representatives remain untouchable. Control becomes repression, disguised as justice. When accountability is only applied to civil society, not to the powerful and corrupt, it becomes repression masked as oversight, stifling civic freedoms and limiting civil society’s ability to monitor, speak out, and hold power accountable - a direct threat to Georgia’s democratic future.

The dual reality is clear: while high-ranking officials of the "Georgian Dream" and businesses associated with them are embroiled in corruption, the oversight mechanisms created by the "Georgian Dream" are being used against the very organizations that seek to expose this corruption. This cannot be construed as anti-corruption policy. Instead, it is a protection racket for corruption, one that persecutes the independent civil sector fighting to expose them.

Signitories:

Europe Foundation

Georgian Young Lawyers' Association 

Transparency International - Georgia

Human Rights Development Foundation

Women of Georgia

Civic Idea

Equality Movement

Prevention for Progress

Women's Initiatives Supporting Group

Human Rights Center (HRC)

Institute for Tolerance and Diversity (TDI)

Georgia’s Future Academy

Free Journalists' House

Support and Opportunity Development Center

Democratic Meskhetian Union

Georgia Regional Empowerment Fund

Georgian Media Group

Green Sector

Civil Movement for Freedom

Democracy Research Institute

Rights Georgia

Georgian Association Psycho Social Aid Ndoba 

Partnership for Human Rights

GRLZWAVE

Media Center Kakheti

Association "Social Umbrella"

Green Alternative

Center for Engagement and Development

Batumi Independent Living Center

The Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims - GCRT

Meeting Place - Dmanisi

Young Feminists

Media Institute

Racha Community Organization

Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI)

Gori Photographer Club/Art House

Georgia’s European Orbit 

Civic Integration Foundation 

Center for Support and Empowerment  

EuroClub Kvareli 

Profesio – Personal and Professional Development Center

Lomeki

Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC)

Media Development Foundation (MDF)

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI)

Community Found LELI

Leliani Adult Educational Center

Civil Society Foundation 

Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG)

Europe-Georgia Institute (EGI)

Independent Trade Union of Public Servants - Constitution Article 78

Tetritskaro Youth Center

Caucasus Open Space